Sailormoon Genesis: #3 - Give Us This Day By: Janelle Jimenez (miaka@bishounen.org) Official Webpage: www.sailormoon-millennia.net [http://bishounen.org/smmillennia/] Note: When you read this, try not to dwell too much on loopholes in the past. Remember, Sailormoon Sailorstars never happened in my Trilogy, thus all the things about the Sailor Wars don't hold true in this alternate universe, however, I do like having cameos. So in my trilogy, Sailorgalaxia was never corrupted, Mao was never taken over by Tin Nyanko, etc. etc. "Refugees from the Planet Mao?" Lady Dione de Kinsei [Venus] repeated, she looked thoughtful for a moment as she leaned back in her high-backed chair. "Yes, my lady. There are two refugees from that planet who have requested asylum in the Moon Kingdom by Queen Selenity." said the messenger. The messenger had a busy day ahead of him, he had already visited Lady Maia de Suisei [Mercury] and had more members of the court to deliver news to. "Planet Mao...is....where...." Dione said to herself, ignoring the messenger's previous statements as she stared at a map of the known Universe. "Ah, on the very tip of the galaxy bordering the Black Star Galaxy." "Yes, the Black Star's border continues to grow at an exponential rate." said a soft voice, it was Maia. Dione smiled graciously, "Lady Maia, I'm glad you've come. I'm quite worried about this take-over..." Dione said, she waved the messenger away and gestured to the chaise before her. "As am I. Mao is not exactly a strategic militarial point, nor does it have any sort of abudant resources--in essence, there doesn't seem to be a point to this attack, just random violence...." Maia noted, Dione frowned slightly. "As if war really has a purpose." She glanced down at the report before her, since the Silver Millennium began almost a millennia ago, the forces on the planet Kuroi had conquered it's neighbors, then it's entire system, then spanned out to rule the entire galaxy. Kuroi became the center of the "Black Star Galaxy," lead by Queen Hydraja and her daughters. "Well, there are other recent 'acquisitions' that seem nonsensical. Mermaid, Coronis, Lethe, Mnemosyne...and now Mao..." Maia said shaking her head, a loose strand of blue hair fell into her face, she brushed it aside. "Each of the planets they conquered had small Senshi forces as well. Sailormao was the only Senshi in her entire system, it seems she wasn't strong enough to defend against their army." Dione looked thoughtful for a moment, despite all the imperialism--there were no rumours or talk of disapproval amongst the taken planets. Actually--everyone seemed... happier. "Maybe there is nothing to worry about. All reports say that the approval ratings from inhabitants of the Black Star Galaxy are almost at a 100%..." Dione said, sharing the findings of the reports she had been reading to Maia. "This is quite true, I've read similar statements from other sources. Not to mention that Princess Beryl has told us countless stories of the wonders of Black Star technology..." Maia added. "Well, perhaps there's nothing wrong with slight expansion of borders." Dione replied as she closed the file, Maia and Dione looked at each other, their worried faces melting into more relaxed ones, Maia smiled, "Well, then thank goodness there's nothing to worry about..." * * * * Princess Beryl looked around her surroundings on the planet Kuroi. Not much had changed since she had last been here several hundred years ago. Ever since she was given dominion over the Dark Kingdom she had seen no real need to return to Kuroi and ask for more favors. The sky was still a deep red color, rather soothing. Beautiful majestic mountains lay in the distance and the crowning jewel of the city of Kurai--the Black Castle stood in the foreground. Beryl pulled the curtains of the carriage back over the window and sat back, they were almost to the drawbridge of the castle. She closed her eyes and let the calming sound of horse-hooves on cobblestone relax her, but before she could truly enjoy it, the carriage came to a stop. The door was opened for her and Beryl stepped down onto the cobble-stones. "Princess Lithia!" Beryl cried as she stepped forward and embraced one of her closest friends. "Beryl, you look wonderful as always." Lithia said with a deep smile, "I've so happy you could make it. The...Sol System is so far from the Black Star Galaxy...the trip must have been dreadful." "It was uncomfortable." Beryl said with a short smile as they walked up to the castle gateway, their conversation continued until they entered the throne room. "Beryl!" exclaimed Princess Sulfiria as the couple entered the throne room, she completely brushed one of the paiges off who had been busy reading battle reports to her. "How long has it been since you last visit? 500 years? I keep forgetting..." "That sounds about right..." Beryl smiled, "I'm so glad you could make it for such an exciting event. The ceremony is tomorrow morning, but you'll surely meet all our new captains at dinner." said as she personally walked Beryl to her rooms, "Are these captains anyone that I've met before?" Beryl asked as they paused at a door, Sulfiria flung the doors open and lead Beryl in. The decor was extravagant, thick red carpetting, black velvet draperies, a bed suspended from the ceiling. "Well, you remember Lord Leadan and his brother Arseniru, correct?" "Hmm....yes, I do believe so. A dashing pair, if I do say so..." Beryl nodded, she didn't have to think very far to recall them. Their personalities and faces were so vibrant in Beryl's mind, despite the hundreds of years it had been since she last saw them. Sulfiria smiled softly, as if her mind were on something else. "Yes, dashing...that's him..." she said, "I mean, rather, that's them." She paused for a moment before stepping back out of the doors, her face slightly flushed, "Well, Princess Beryl, I'll leave you to get freshened up. We'll get caught up during dinner. I'll have a maid send for you when it's ready." Beryl smiled sweetly as the doors closed behind Sulfiria, she loves one of them...it's so obvious, probably Lord Leadan, she thought. Ah, Sulfiria has someone to love and someone who loves her back...how lucky she is... * * * * "Jupiter, could you please pass the sugar?" Venus asked across the table as she glanced down at her hand of cards. She scrunched her face in frustration, she was never very good at card games. People could always read her emotions. Princess Jupiter smiled slightly and handed the sugar-bowl to Venus as she gave her cards one last glance before setting them down. "Would you like any tea with that?" Mars commented with a grin as she watched Venus dump spoonful after spoonful of sugar into her tea. Mars then turned back to Serenity and prompted her, "So, anyways, Princess Serenity, you were telling us about how you and Princess Miranda were on Mokusei when Lord Maximillian came up..." "Yes, well, Lord Maximillian of Meiousei came up to us and noted we weren't wearing shawls, so he asked if Miranda and I would like to return to the Inn he was staying at and warm up." Serenity said and rolled her eyes, she bit into a sugar cookie. "Lord Maximillian certainly isn't one for tact." Mars said shaking her head, she laid down a card on the table. It had an elaborate drawing of 5 birds in flight, "Five of Birds!" she declared triumphantly, "Hah! Nine of Gems!" Venus exclaimed putting her hand over Mars card and carefully placing it in her pile. "Your turn Jupiter." "So, did you go?" Mercury asked suddenly, her eyes bright. "Go where?" Jupiter asked with a perplexed look on her face, she looked at her cards then back at Mercury. "No, no, did Princess Serenity and Miranda go with Lord Maximillian." Mercury urged, "Of course not!" Serenity gasped in horror, "That's not a proper thing a lady does!" Mercury ducked her head slightly and flushed horribly, "Oh...umm...I call a show--Five of Gems, Two of Birds, the Crystal Queen, the Crystal King, and the Dark Knight." Jupiter said hastily, noting Mercury's level of uncomfortability and showing her hand--knowing full well she could have won with Serenity's Dark Bishop...but chose to break the awkward silence instead. "I WON!" Mars exclaimed happily as she laid down her cards and showed a lovely court of White cards. "OH!" Serenity exclaimed as she began to scoop up all the cards to reshuffle, "I just remembered to ask, you are all going to my debutante ball, right?" "Of course we are. Like you, we are all seeking husbands." Mars replied rather dryly, she was still looking down at her winnings and counting them silently. Serenity didn't seem to notice her distaste, "Lady Isuka informs me that I am to meet a certain Prince Endymion of Earth." she said excitedly, "Endymion of Earth?" Mercury repeated, she knew that man. Rather, she'd seen that man before. "From that one ball when you first saw Princess Beryl and fell madly in love with her?" Mars asked with a grin. Mercury's eyes widened as once again a blush covered her face, "I did not fall in love with her! She is quite the fascinating intellectual, which is more than I can say about some of you." she said glaring at Mars. Mars smiled, she was always amused to see one of her dearest friends passionate about something, "Touché, Princess Mercury. Anyhow, Endymion of Earth...yes, Mercury and I saw him before. Yes, he is quite the dashing man, Princess Serenity." Now it was Serenity's turn to blush, she had never seen the Prince, but she did hear his voice...and she did know how he acted. Her mind drifted off to recalling that night several years ago. The memory was still fresh in her mind, as if it happened only months ago, time seemed to move much faster on the Silver Millennium. * * * * "Your Majesty, your guests have arrived." "Please, send them in." Queen Selenity stood as the door opened, but to her surprise, no one entered the room. It took her a moment to look down towards the floor. Then, there they were. Selenity stifled a gasp, her face remained gracious, despite her shock. "Yes, I know what you are thinking, Your Majesty." said the black cat, "You believed that the Mao people had a human form. This is true, but we do not usually take that form on Mao. Only Sailormao was always in her human form. Unfortunately, when the planet was destroyed, it seemed the magic that our people had disappeared as well. Everyone was trapped in the form they were in prior to the destruction...if they were still alive." "Thank you for explaining this to me. Please, tell me your names." Selenity said, if what this cat told her was true, then the Black Star Galaxy had lied about the damage they caused to the planet, and they lied about the number of casualties. "Your Majesty, I am Lady Luna de Mao and this is Lord Artemis de Mao." the black cat said, both cats lowered their heads briefly for the Queen, "We served as the royal advisors for Queen Felicia de Mao." "Luna and Artemis?" Queen Selenity asked, her face paled. Back on the Golden Millennium...nearly two millenia ago...Luna and Artemis *her* pet kittens. What a bizarre coincidence. "Queen Selenity?" Artemis asked worriedly, "No...no, it's nothing..." she said, obviously distracted still. "Oh...well..." Artemis said slowly, he didn't quite know what to say. He simply kept his eyes lowered as the beautiful Queen gazed at him, her eyes full of nostalgia and longing. "Well, I'll have someone show you to your quarters." Selenity said finally, "You are welcome to stay for however long you wish. Perhaps I could use your opinions on certain matters as well." Selenity said with a smile. With that, Artemis and Luna were lead out of the room. Selenity sighed and sat back in her chair, The Golden Millennium. How long had it been since she had even thought of that time and place? Years, hundreds of years. It was an era she wanted to forget. She often wondered what happened after she was taken away by Sailorlibra....Libra, one of the three Zodiac Senshi that didn't die when the Golden Millennium was destroyed. However, it was only Libra who survived because she had cleverly escaped from the Golden Millennium by faking her own death. Whereas the others were alive because they weren't there during the final battle against Selenity's mother. "I wonder..." Selenity murmured as she leaned back in her chair and gazed at her map of the known Universe. "I wonder where my sisters are in that great big mass of space...and I wonder if I'll ever see them again." she sighed, after Selenity had been delivered to safety--Libra set out on rescuing Stella and Solana before the Golden Millennium was destroyed, but she never saw any of them again. Why was she saved first? Why was she given the right to survive over them? Surely they had to be alive, surely. She would have felt their prescence disappear if they were dead. "My sisters...I wish you were here now..." Selenity said outloud, her eyes directed on the area beyond the known universe, the regions no one had explored yet, "I wish you could see the wonders of the Silver Millennium, see my courageous young daughter...I wish that one day you could see it all..." * * * * Metallia drifted restlessly about the Earth. She was gaining followers, this was wonderful to her. She had appeared in human form before some pagans in visions, it was taxing for her to do so--she wasn't able to keep human form very long, but it truly was a very useful way of making people realize she existed. There were others ways, she had used the elements to create wind storms and to cause people to become ill. Soon people would know her name and give praise to her, worshippers gave her more power. Then soon she would be the deity of Earth, a role which was being fought over by other two entities. Soon. Very Soon. I will control Earth. * * * * "Princess Beryl, please, sit here." Princess Sulfiria beckoned, gesturing to a chair beside her. Beryl had changed into a long black gown bedecked with green jewels. A servant held the seat out for her and gently pushed it in for her, then opened her napkin and placed it in her lap. "So, when are your newest captains coming down?" Beryl asked as she took a short sip of her water. "I just had a page send for them a few minutes ago." Lithia replied as she leaned forward and picked up a crepe. "They should be down any moment now." "They are truly four very admirable people. Mau would not have been captured so easily without their leadership." Sulfiria noted as she also sipped her water. "Although, ultimately, Mao would have fallen--with or without their help." she added. Lithia smirked slightly as she tossed her hair over her shoulder, "Indeed, you would think Sailormao would have tried a bit harder to fight. Afterall, she has magical powers and we used your run-of-the-mill groundtroops." Lithia laughed, "Ah, here is one of the Captains now." Lithia said gesturing to the figure who was standing in the entryway. "This is Lady Cyanida de Beraku-Staa, she's from a semi-recently acquired planet of Lethe. She's quite the master at espionage. Without her aid, the twin-planets of Lethe and Mnemosyne would have been nearly impossible to capture." From the shadows, a tall, slender woman stepped forward and walked confidantly towards her seat near Princess Lithia. She had long, light blue hair which was tied neatly in a ponytail at the nape of her neck. Her bright blue eyes flashed like jewels as she smiled slightly to Princess Beryl. She was dressed in the usual garb of the officers of Black Star Army--except her jacket was grey with silver buttons and silver épaulettes at her shoulders. [Note: épaulettes are those fringy things at the shoulders, think Sakura Wars or Shoujo Kakumei Utena] "Hello, Lady Cyanida..." Beryl said and respectfully bowed her head to her. "I'm very happy that you were able to attend, Princess Beryl. Talk of your beauty and intellect have reached even to the far-reaches of Lethe. Everyone knows of Princess Beryl the Morningstar." Cyanida said with a beautiful smile. "Lord Leadan, Lord Arseniru--we know you are here, show yourselves." Lithia called, a portal swirled and a handsome man with silver hair and silver eyes appeared, at the same time there was a sudden burst of fire and a devilishly handsome man with firey red hair appeared. "My Lady Beryl, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintence." Leadan said smiling at her with his silver eyes. Beryl glanced over to Sulfiria, from the look on Sulfiria's face, she could tell that Sulfiria was madly in love with this elegant man. "Princess Beryl, you look good enough to eat." Arseniru said with a sensuous smile. "Arseniru, how crass. Please forgive my brother, My Lady, he doesn't quite know what to say before a woman, let alone a woman of your status." Leadan said dryly as he took his seat. Arseniru took his seat as well. With them sitting side by side, Beryl could plainly see the differences between them--they were like day and night. Leadan sat in his seat with regal composure, an air of nobility and gentleness surrounding him. His hands appeared delicate, like the hands of an artist. His eyes shined with an aura of intellect and brilliance. He was the type of man Beryl would fall in love with, if only she weren't in love with Prince Endymion of Earth. On the other hand, there was Arseniru. The complete antithesis of his older brother. Arseniru was arrogantly reclining in his seat, the top button of his uniform undone, his hair playfully tousled. While Leadan had the aura of gentility, Arseniru had a roughness about him that was very appealing. He seemed the kind of person who desired every woman--and tried to have them as well. All his mannerisms seemed very sensual. Indeed, his coy glances at Beryl left her face flushed. Embarassed, she tried valiantly to keep her eyes and attention away from this playful man, which only enticed him more. Not noticing the exchange between Arseniru and Beryl, Lithia continued, "Ah, yes, and finally--but certainly not the least of them is a young woman who is exceptionally talented in the art of war." Beryl glanced over to where Lithia's attention seemed to be diverted. In the shadows was a figure, watching them. Had she been there the entire time? The thought put a shiver down Beryl's spine. From the shadows stepped forward a beautiful young woman. She had a very dangerous look about her and cold red eyes that seemed as if they were made of hardened blood. Her long black hair tumbled beautifully down her back, the only thing distinguishing it from her jet black uniform where the shocking red streaks which ran down her hair. Instinctively, Princess Beryl stood up. She didn't quite no why, she had been taught as a child to stand before those of a higher status than she--while those people existed, this woman was not of a higher status. But yet, there was something about her... "I do not believe I have made your acquaintance, I'm Princess Beryl of the Dark Kingdom." Beryl said, the woman made no acknowledgement that she had heard Beryl--nor did she even recognize Beryl's existence. "Do not expect her to...be nearly as social as the others. Being social is something that Leadan is going to have to 'reprogram' into her conciousness. She's been 'programmed' to be an assassain, a killer." Lithia replied matter-of-factly as she stared at the woman with a cold smile on her face, "She's an experiment in mind-control. You see, unlike past projects, she actually retains her old memories-- she knows where she comes from and who she is, however, we've cut the emotions attached. In essence, she no longer feels. She has no use for the emotions and feelings which poison humans and cause them to feel remorse or second-guess themselves. Her mind is set on her missions, her devotion is totally to the Black Star Galaxy. In short, she's Leadan's ultimate experiment. A living, breathing, killing machine." Lithia said, a self-satisfied smile on her face. "Princess Beryl, allow me to introduce you. This is Scorpia Beraku-Staa, former Guardian of the Golden Millennium."